Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary, Le (1942)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Sacha Guitry

Writer:

Sacha Guitry (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 September 1944 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | History

Plot Keywords:

France | French Revolution | Napoleonic Wars | Writer Director | Historical

Cast

Sacha Guitry	...	Napoléon 1er
Gaby Morlay	...	Désirée Clary, adulte
Jacques Varennes	...	Bernadotte
Jean Hervé	...	Talma
Aimé Clariond	...	Joseph Bonaparte
Jean-Louis Barrault	...	Napoléon Bonaparte
Lise Delamare	...	Joséphine de Beauharnais
Yvette Lebon	...	Julie Clary
Carlettina	...	Désirée Clary, enfant
Jean Périer	...	Talleyrand
Noël Roquevert	...	Fouché
Georges Grey	...	Junot
Camille Fournier	...	Julie Bonaparte
Germaine Laugier	...	Madame Clary
Jeanne Fusier-Gir	...	Albertine, la servante

Also Known As:

Mlle. Desiree (USA)

Runtime:

France:117 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Compagnie Commerciale Française Cinématographique (CCFC)

Movie Connections:

Remake of Sposa dei re, La (1938)

Sacha Guitry's most fabulous biography

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This film recreates the real-life story of a young girl from Marseille who was destined to marry Joseph Bonaparte but instead fell in love with his younger brother Napoléon. This would be enough plot for a film like, say, "Moonstruck". But wait, there's more! Napoléon marries Joséphine and Désirée marries General Bernadotte on the rebound. Napoléon names Bernadotte king of Sweden, thus turning his first love into a foreign queen and his ex-general into an eventual enemy. This story was remade by Hollywood as "Désirée" (with Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando). This version was made during the German occupation of France (1942) where the censors couldn't possibly object to a romantic depiction of a French emperor ending in a French defeat which also served as a reminder of the ties of occupied France with neutral Sweden. Where Guitry, who was a famous actor besides being an author and director, breaks all theatrical and cinematic conventions is when he takes over the role of Napoléon himself during the last part of the film in order to remind everyone that it's only a film after all and that the subtle handling of the last scenes needed a deft comedic touch that no amount of make-up could impart to skinny-as-a-rail Jean-Louis Barrault, who played Napoléon in the first part. Guitry specialized in historical recreations to which his witty asides and realistic dialogue added a fresh new luster. This biography mixed with comedic elements may be his masterpiece in that it moves in a very modern fashion from the accepted clichés of romantic chick-flicks to the acerbic wit of an ageing lover of women commenting on the fascinating spectacle of life's vanities. This film is not available in any format anywhere on the planet except as an occasional TV offering in France and Canada. It is high time concerned francophiles founded a Society of the Friends of Sacha Guitry in North America in order to bring such masterpieces to Region 1 DVD in their original French version and in a restored condition if possible.